Improved vise having jaws movable downwardly when clamping a workpiece



W. TURNER IMPROVED VISE HAVING JAWS MOVABLE DOWNWARDLY WHEN CLAMPING A WORKPIECE Filed June 8, 1954 fi 1 0 7 Z 5 m 6 0. 21222 lmlxlxvlll \3 A A. 1 n *rlllv 4 5 7 2 1 v M. flFll fi 4 4 3 Fri" m 6 M 8 Q n 2 9 r" m 2 5 1V L I M I 0 87 n F B 2 F222 6 7 I w 1 [11 H: Al 2 1 Dec. 27, 1955 United States Patent IMPROVED VISE HAVING JAWS MOVABLE DOWNWARDLY WHEN (ILAMPING A WORK- PIECE William Turner, Sheffield, England, assignor to The Sheflield Twist Drill & Steel Co. Limited, Shetfield, England Application June 8, 1954, Serial No. 435,219

Claims. (Cl. s1 2s This invention relates to vises for use with a machine for holding a workpiece and is more particularly concerned with a vise having a pair of jaws each slidably accommodated on a jaw-supporting table which is secured to the body of the vise and on to which table said jaws are movable downwardly when being tightened against a workpiece positioned between the jaws. An object of the present invention is to provide a vise which will be of compact construction having a fiXable jaw quickly releasable for free and easy sliding movement on the jaw-supporting table into and out of closing position with relation to a slidable clamping jaw. A further object is to provide a vise meeting that requirement in which the fixable jaw is pivotally connected by links to a spring urged pawl in releasable engagement with a toothed rack on a length of the underside of the jaw-supporting table and the clamping jaw is pivotally connected by links, to a clamping member for said clamping jaw, said clamping member slidably engaging a length of the underside of the jaw-supporting table, a traversing screw being mounted in the vise body and being actuable upon said clamping member, all of said links being pivotally movable so as to impart downward pull to the jaws on clamping pressure being applied by said jaws to a workpiece positioned therebetween.

These and other objects will be apparent from the following description in which reference is had to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan of one form of vise made according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation on the line 22, Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional end elevation on the line 33, Fig. 2.

As shown in the drawing, the vise comprises a body provided with open-ended slots 11 by which the vise may be secured by bolts to a bench or vise-supporting table of a machine.

The body is provided with a pair of upstanding lugs 12 disposed at or adjacent each end of the body and a jaw-supporting table 13 is mounted upon said lugs 12 by setscrews (not shown).

The jaw-supporting table 13 is a steel plate provided over an intermediate length of its lower face with ratchet teeth 14 extending across the whole width thereof, the upper face of the table 13 being a plain smooth surface to provide a slide for a pair of opposing jaws 15, 16 both of which are slidably mounted on the table 13.

The jaws 15 and 16 are provided respectively with a pair of depending cheeks or side walls 17, 18 adapted to straddle the supporting table 13 in close adjacency to the side edges thereof and prevent lateral displacement of the jaws relatively to said table.

The side walls 17 of the jaw 15 are each provided with a recess 19 in its inner face of the accommodation of one of a pair of links 20 pivoted at their upper ends to the jaw by a common pivot pin 21 passing transversely through the jaw and links, at a point above the table 13 said links depending alongside and'extending below the edges of the table 13, the lower end of each link carrying one end of a spring urged pawl 22 extending transversely under the table 13 in. engagement with the teeth 14, said pawl 22 being provided with trunnions 23 entering holes 24 in the ends of the links and constituting pivotal means for the lower ends of said links,

said pawl having teeth 25 adapted to mesh with the teeth 14 of the table 13. The cheeks or side walls 17 in addition to preventing lateral displacement of the jaw also serve toconceal the links 20. The teeth 25 of the pawl 22 preferably extend the full width of the teeth 14 of the table, as shown in Fig. 3.

The axis of the upper pivot 21 of the links 20 is spaced rearwardly from the work-gripping face 26 of the jaw a greater distance than the axis of the lower pivot 23 of the links. Finger grips 27 are provided at the lower end of each link for manipulation so as to effect pivotal movement of the links by the user for releasing the pawl 22 from the teeth 14 to permit slidable movement of the jaw 15.

For urging the pawl teeth 25 into engagement with the table teeth 14, coil springs 28 are housed in pockets 29 in the. side walls 17 and opposing pockets 30 in the links 20, so that the toothed pawl 22 is spring pressed into engagement with the toothed undersurface of the table 13 as a result of the action of the springs 28 on the lower ends of the links carrying said pawl.

The side walls 18 of the jaw 16 are each provided with a recess 31 for the accommodation of one of a pair of links 32 pivoted at their upper ends to the jaw 16 by a common pivot pin 33 passing transversely through said jaw and links at a pointabove the table 13, said links depending alongside and extending below the edges of the table 13 and being pivoted one to each end of a clamping member 34- by means of trunnions 35 on the clamping member entering holes 36 at the lower end of each link, said trunnions constituting pivotal means for thelower ends of the links 32.

The lower face of the table 13 is spaced from the body 10 by the upstanding lugs 12, the pawl 22 and clamping member 34 operating in the space between'the body 10 and table 13. A. part of the under face of the table from one lug towards the other lug is provided with the ratchet teeth 14 with which the teeth 25 of the pawl 22 are adapted to co-operate, the remaining portion of the lower face of the table with which the clamping member 34 is adapted to co-operated being plain.

Each jaw 15, 16 is provided with a yieldable bearing plate 37 slidable therewith upon the upper surface of the table 13.

The lug 12 adjacent the jaw 15 is provided with a threaded bore to receive a rotatable traversing screw 33 for engaging and moving the clamping member 34. This traversing screw 33 is adapted merely to make abutment with said member 34 for efiecting clamping movement only of the jaw 16.

in use, for clamping a workpiece (not shown) between the jaws 15 and 16, pressure is applied to the finger grips 27 by the fingers of the user of the vise to free the pawl teeth 25 from the teeth 14 and enable the jaw 15 to be first slid away from the jaw 16 at least sufficiently far to permit the positioning of a workpiece between it and the jaw 16. The finger grips are then released and jaw 15 is slid against the workpiece, the pawl teeth 25 riding idly over the table teeth 14 during such movement, and the springs 28 automatically engaging the pawl teeth with the table teeth upon completion of such movement. The traversing screw 38 is then operated to apply clamping pressure to the jaw 16 to securely grip the workpiece tightly between the jaws.

Any tendency of the jaws 15,. 16 to lift by outward thrust thereon by the clamped workpiece is counteracted by the pull of their respective pairs of links 20, 32 which, in the event of slight movement thereofi caused by any opening: movement of the jaws by the opposing thrust thereon of the clamped. workpiece, move downwardly about their lower pivots constituted by" the trunnions 23 and 35 respectively and thereby pull the jawsand their yieldabie bearing plates: 37 hard down on the table 13.

The workplace is readily disengaged by operating the finger grips 27 to disengage the pawl 22 from the teeth 14', and sliding the jaw 15- out oi engagement with the workpiece,

Since both jaws are movable and since the one jaw 15' is fixed: by the pawl teeth 25 engaging the table teeth 14,. only a. short traversing screw 38 is necessary for applying clamping pressure to the other movable jaw 16, said; traversing. screwextending under the jaw-supporting table 13" instead of passing in a longitudinal slot therein,

and the movable jaw 15 being'readily slid to the required position as hereinbefore explained.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A vise comprising a body, apair of movable work gripping jaws, a jaw-supporting table slidably accommodating said jaws thereon, a pair of links pivoted at their upper ends to each of said jaws one each at opposite sides thereof and of the jaw-supporting table, a clamping member for one of said jaws pivotally connected at its: opposite ends to the lower ends of the links of said one jaw in advance of the upper pivoted ends of said links of said one jaw and extending transversely of and. in engagement with a plain portion of the lower face of the jaw-supporting table, a manipulable traversing. screw rotatably mounted in the body for actuating said jaw-clamping member by applying a forward thrust to the jaw-clamping member, a spring-pressed toothed pawl pivotally' connected at its opposite ends to the lower ends of the links of the other jaw in advance of the upper pivoted ends of said links of said other jaw and extending, transversely of and in engagement with a toothed portion of the lower face ofthe jaw supporting table, and manipulable means for releasing the toothed pawl from engagement withthe toothed portion of said jaw-supporting table.

2. A vise comprising a body having a jaw-supporting table, a. fixable and a clamping jaw slidably accommodated in opposing relation on the upper surface of said table, each jaw having side walls extending dependingly below and straddling the jaw-supporting table in close adjacency to. the. side edges. thereof, a yieldable hearing plate secured to each jaw interposedly of said table and said jaw, a toothed rack on a length of the lower face of the jaw-supporting table which extends beneath the fixable jaw, a spring-urged pawl extending transversely under and in releasable engagement with said toothed rack, links pivotally connecting said flxable jaw to said pawl, said links being manipula'ole for disengaging the pawl from said toothed rack, a clamping member for the clamping jaw extending transversely under and in slidable engagement with a length of the jaw-supportingtable which extends beneath said clamping jaw, links pivotally connecting said clamping jaw to said jaw-clamping member, and a traversing screw mounted in the body and actuable upon said clamping member, all of said links being pivotally movable so as to impart downward pull to the jaws when clamping pressure is applied by said jaws toa workpiece positioned therebetween.

3. vise as claimed in claim 2, in which thelinks of the clamping jaw are accommodated in recesses one internally of each side wall of said jaw and aresuspended" from a common pivot axis disposed transversely of said jaw, the lower ends of said links carrying the clamping member for slidable movement by actuation of the traversing screw of the vise.

4'. A vise as claimed inclaim 2, in which the links of the fixable jaw are accommodated in recesses one internally of each side wall of said jaw and are suspended from a common pivot axis disposed transversely of said jaw, the lower ends of said links carrying the springurged pawl, coil springs being housed in opposing pockets in the links and the side walls and bearing against said links to urge the pawl in engagement with the toothed rack on thejaw-supporting table.

5. A vise as claimed in claim 4, inwhich the linksof the clamping jaw are accommodated in recesses one internally of each side wall of said jaw and are suspended from a common pivot axis disposed transversely of said jaw, the lower ends of said links carrying the clamping member for slidable movement by actuation of the traversing screw of the vise.

References Cited in the file of this' patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,454,993 Bothwell May 15,, E23

2,584,062 Stone Ian. 29, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 712,241 Germany Oct. '15, 194-1 

